13:08, 10 августа 2022, Bishkek - 24.kg news agency , Aida DZHUMASHOVA
Refugees from Afghanistan hold a rally in Gorky park in Bishkek.
The protesters are demanding to give them an official refugee status or citizenship of Kyrgyzstan.
According to Nadira Nasiri, the citizens of Afghanistan are asking for help in obtaining documents.
«I came from the city of Ghazni. I have been living in Bishkek for seven years, but I have not received the refugee status yet. We ask, if possible, to grant us the citizenship of Kyrgyzstan. My family and I have to confirm our registration at the place of residence every three months. We have no rights with the documents with which we live here,» she said.
In August last year, the citizens of Afghanistan held a number of protests near the buildings of the U.S. Embassy and the UN Office in Bishkek. They asked either to grant them the citizenship of Kyrgyzstan, or to send them to another state.
The reason for the protests was the fact that in 2021 Kyrgyzstan introduced restrictions on issuing visas to citizens of Afghanistan. These measures were taken in view of the unstable military and political situation in the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, as well as in order to prevent illegal entry of unwanted persons into the country and mass arrival of refugees.